From Dahlias, To Lotuses
by Lavender Rose of Faith
Summary: Two more years have passed by since Isabelle's attempt to "ruin" Caesar's Wedding, but this time her younger cousin Dahlia getting married to Da Xiang. She is very ecstatic to know that the wedding is happening, but she starts to recall beautiful and painful memories that lead her to this day. Sequel to "The Proposal". Da XiangXOC. Rated T.


"Today is the day," I whisper to myself.

Yes, today is the day of course. It has been ten years since I have met the love of my life. I used to be a blader who never believed in "love at first sight". The reason behind it all was because of when Yoel, a boy who was in my third grade class in Panama. I used to have this huge crush on him and I felt like I was in love for the first time. Yoel and I eventually started dating when we were fourteen. About a week or so, I found that Yoel was dating another girl at the same time he was dating me.

That break up did traumatized me even though I did come a awesome revenge scheme the week after that break up. The revenge scheme did satisfied me, but not that much thought. I will never recall for the fact that I was heartbroken by the person who told me that he loves me. One of Spanish Proverbs states that no todo lo que brillos es oro. The translation of the proverb is that not everything shines is gold. That was definitely true because I should never acted like the lovestruck bitch that was when I told Yoel that I loved him.

Despite this, I thought that I will never have the opportunity to fall in love again. That of course was going to be untrue because there was one particular black haired Chinese blader who had his eyes on me. I recall the moment when he told me that he loved me. That was nine years ago when I went to China on my one month vacation.

**(Flashback- Nine Years Ago)**

_ The Ferris Wheel moved slowly and we were going higher and higher until it stopped completely. As the cart was moving slowly, I looked out from the window to see that the stars were shining brightly. It was a pretty much a weird and unusual moment that Da Xiang and I are having at the moment. None of us were talking until Da Xiang began to open his mouth._

_Da Xiang asked, "Do you like this date Dahlia?"_

_"I love it Da Xiang. I am enjoying myself and you seem to be having fun too," I responded back._

_Da Xiang commented, "That is good and I was wondering something."_

_"What is it Da Xiang?" I questioned the Chinese Blader._

_Da Xiang stated, "I was wondering if it possible to fall in love with somebody."_

_"It possible to fall in love if it is person loves you back in my own opinion," I responded back._

_Da Xiang replied back, "I have a confession for you."_

_I asked, "What is it Da Xiang?"_

_"I am falling in love with the person that I truly care for," replied Da Xiang._

_I replied, "I was wondering who that can be."_

_"I am looking at her right now," responded Da Xiang._

_ From there, Da Xiang moved closer to me and he caressed my right cheek. He then cupped my right cheek. I did not disturbed this moment at all since it was getting good. Da Xiang placed his lips on top of my lips and he began to kiss me. I did not do anything until I began to kiss him back. This was the first time I kissed somebody on the lips before. That was possibly Da Xiang's first kiss too and I then parted away from the Chinese blader._

_Da Xiang whispered into my ear, "I love you Dahlia. You are one that I consider as my true love."_

_ I definitely blushed to that comment. It was a sweet comment that Da Xiang has told me. I did not believe that Da Xiang confessed his feelings about me. That made me felt more secured about how I truly felt about Da Xiang._

_"I love you too Da Xiang because I cannot even deny my feelings that I have towards you," I replied back. _

**(End of Flashback)**

I smile as I recall such a romantic moment and I walk towards the tall golden framed mirror. As I stare at myself in the mirror, all I can see is me wearing a beautiful floral ivory satin lace strapless mermaid trumpet wedding dress. There was beautiful and long red ribbon sash wrapped around the elegant wedding dress.

"_I never thought I was going to get married until what happened two years ago," I thought to myself._

I was thinking about was a pregnancy that I had two years. Da Xiang and I were suppose to have our first child, a baby girl. The two of us of course were ecstatic about this. Even though I had a completely healthy pregnancy, I never thought that the worst could ever happen. What I mean by that is that our daughter died a day after she was born. This affected both Da Xiang and I the most because the two of us were in disbelief to know something like this had to happen.

Right now, I have to forget about the two of the most horrendous memories of my life. I need to be in high spirits for the fact that I was going to marry Da Xiang today. We have been anticipating this moment for the last two years and now is time to make it happen. There was a small knock on the door and I approach the door slowly. I open the door and I come across a tall lightly tan skinned woman with shoulder length cinnamon red colored curly hair. She was wearing a knee length red chiffon halter dress on with a pair of white colored pumps on with three inch heels.

"I cannot believe you are getting married Dahlia," says the woman.

I respond back, "I know and I have been waiting for this day to come Isabelle."

"Yes I know and I want you to be the happiest cousin in the world. I know you went through so much especially the death of baby Ling two years ago," states Isabelle.

Isabelle was right of course because I went through a state of depression after Ling's death. Even mentioning her name makes my heart cringe. Everybody tried their best to console me including Da Xiang of course during that seven month period. Tears slowly develop from my eyes and Isabelle glances at me.

My older cousin whispers, "I am sorry."

I heard my cousin's whisper and I tell her that it was alright. From there, I swift dry off the tears that I was crying. There is no reason why I should be crying at the moment. Isabelle walks to the nightstand and picks up a shoulder length white birdcage veil with beautiful faux red dahlia flowers on it. My older cousin places the veil on my beautiful elbow length light blonde curly hair. It was the last thing I had to put on before walking down the aisle today.

Suddenly, the cherry wood door opens and I turn my head over to see who it was. It was tall honey tan skinned male with shoulder length blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail. He was wearing a black tuxedo and a pair of silver framed glasses on it. The man was about in his mid-fifties at most.

"You look stunning Dahlia," says the blonde haired man.

I smile back and I reply back, "Thank you papi."

"No problem Dahlia and I cannot believe that you are getting married," comments my father.

I state, "I know because I am the last of your daughters to get married since Roxanna's wedding was about five years ago."

"True and it's going to be very difficult for me giving you away to Da Xiang today," my father replies.

Isabelle says, "Of course Uncle Theo because I recall that you acted very emotionally before giving Roxanna away to Angel."

I chuckle about this because it was a funny moment that I will never forget. That specific memory caused my father to be a very emotional person. Isabelle then gives me the bouquet of red dahlias and I cannot believe I have bouquet of flowers even thought I am not tossing it. I believe the bouquet/garter toss is tacky and I do not want the single people killing themselves over it.

"What are you going to do with the bouquet?" asks my father.

I reply, "Easy… We are going to settle it with a dance competition to determine which couple was married the longest."

Da Xiang and I agreed to it because the two of us do not want our guests to injury themselves. From there, both my father and Isabelle tells me that it was time to join up with the other bridesmaids and my mother of course. Plus my maid of honor was waiting for us where ever the location was. The three of us walk outside the room so we reunite with everybody else at the moment. I was nice to know that the wedding was going to be at Beylin Temple. This place makes me feel comfortable despite I started my training here after the Nemesis incident.

As I recall the good, the bad, and funny memories I had in the Beylin Temple, I have to feel grateful that Da Xiang allowed me to train here. It was not because I was his girlfriend at the time. The reason why is that I wanted to be stronger and Da Xiang saw that I have the potential to become a stronger blader. My father, my older cousin, and I continue walking until a familiar female voice calls my name. I look over to see another tall woman, but this one has elbow length black hair that was in beautiful waves. She was wearing an elegant red silk one shoulder dress that reaches to her ankles. The woman stands out from the rest of bridesmaids.

"You look beautiful Dahlia," says the black haired woman.

I reply, "I know Maribel and I am glad that you are maid of honor for this wedding."

"Of course Dahlia because I have been friends with you for the last nine years now. I am your confidant and I feel honored for the fact that you chose me," states Maribel.

I respond back, "Yes I know because I trusted you the most after you and I decided to settle our differences."

The bridesmaids for the wedding are Isabelle, Paz, Madoka, Elena Marie, Sophie, Mei-Mei, Hikaru, Krystalle, Tula, Rebecca, Qiuyue, Daiyu, and Sapphira. Thirteen bridesmaids seems to be a lot, but I do not care because they are considered to my closest friends.

"I actually cannot believe you are getting married," states Mei-Mei.

I reply, "I know I know and I wish that I can make it count the most."

"True because you and Da Xiang went through so much to make to this point," says Madoka.

Sophie comments, "You two deserve this happiness of course because we all can tell that you two truly love each other."

I agree with my friends and their wonderful comments. Each of my bridesmaids start to give me words of encouragement before the ceremony. Each thing that they say to me makes my heart feel all warm and fuzzy right now. All of us decide to take some pictures before leaving the ceremony. My father took out his camera and he starts taking pictures of all of us. We all smile for the camera and all of us were enjoying ourselves right now. After taking pictures, the fourteen of us start walking to the location of the wedding. The walk was about a good five minutes or so. I then look over to see that the groomsmen are waiting outside too. The only two who are not here are Da Xiang and Chi-yun since they are the groom and best man respectively.

Roxanna's six year old daughter Rosa was wearing a simple white dress on and she was carrying a woven basket with different flowers in it. She was the flower girl for the wedding. The ring bearer was Roxanna's four year old son Michael, who was wearing a simple black tuxedo on. He was holding a white pillow with two rose gold wedding bands on it. The sight of seeing my niece and nephew in those outfits makes me smile. It was sweet to know that both brother and sister are going to participate during the wedding. The music starts playing and my father approaches me and holds me by my right hand. I grabbed on his right hand and I squeeze it lightly.

There was so much anticipation going on right now because now was the time for me to walk down the aisle. I close my eyes and I try my best to stay calm. It was not easy because there was so much on my mind right now and I cannot seem to focus on it. After Rosa and Michael walk down the aisle, I look over at my father who looks like he was about to cry. I smile at my father and I try to dry off his tears with my left hand.

"Papi, you do not have to cry about. You may be giving me away to Da Xiang, but remember that I will always be your youngest daughter," I state to my father.

My father replies, "I understand Dahlia, but it's going to be hard to let you go."

"I understand, but you have to realize that I am beautiful grown young woman now. It was my decision to get married and I want you to know that I will love you no matter what whether I am married or not," I comment my father.

My father dries off the remainder of his tears and tells me it is time. I smile back my father and the two of us start walking down the aisle. The Beylin Temple was surrounded with beautiful red and white lotus petals on the floor. There are also red and white lanterns hanging on the ceiling, which makes the scenery look more elegant. As we walk down the aisle, I was trying my best to smile and not cry. Everybody was staring at me walking down the aisle, but there is one particular person who was very ecstatic to see me. It was the Chinese blader that I have known for ten years now. Da Xiang grins at the sight of me wearing my wedding dress.

I know he is going to say that I either look stunning or beautiful in this satin lace wedding dress. As I make it down the aisle finally, I hug my father before I and tell him thank you for what he has done for me for the last twenty-five years. After releasing my father from this embrace, I walk away from the blonde haired man and I approach the tall Chinese man. Da Xiang smiles and caresses my right cheek the same way he did nine years ago when we were on the Ferris wheel.

"You caressed my cheek the same way you did nine years ago. I will never forget that moment Da Xiang," I comment towards my future husband.

Da Xiang replies, "I know and you look angelic with this gorgeous wedding dress."

"Thank you and I cannot imagine that today is the day we officially become husband and wife," I state.

The black haired Chinese man reacts, "Yes I cannot imagine this too, but it going to be worth it in end for sure because since I laid eyes on you… My world felt complete."

I agree with what Da Xiang has to say about this. He was completely right about this because we do complete each other. If we never had met each, all those memories we had won't exist. I should be grateful for the fact that I have met the person who truly loves me. Meeting Da Xiang the best thing that has happened in my life despite all the bad memories that occurred in our lives later only. We both grab onto each others hands and the priest informs us that the ceremony was going to the start.

The ceremony commences and there was a lot to do within in two hours. I was holding Da Xiang's right hand during most of the ceremony unless the priest tells us to stop. Everybody was either smiling or crying tears of joy as they witness this beautiful ceremony. Da Xiang and I of course were smiling because both us are feeling full of bliss at the moment. One of the most anticipated moments of this wedding ceremony was the wedding vows. The black haired Chinese man looks over at me and stares at me with his green colored eyes.

"I, Da Xiang Wang, take you Dahlia Rocio Puente, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, or the Lord comes for His own, and here to I pledge you my faithfulness," says Da Xiang and the priest says stimontaneously.

I was tearing up a bit as I heard my husband recite his part of the vow. It was such a beautiful moment and we both hold our right hands. Da Xiang sees the tears falling from my light turquoise colored eyes. He dries of those tears with his left hand and tells me not to cry. I nod my head yes and I look over at the priest. It was my turn to recite the my part of the wedding vow.

The priest and I state together, "I, Dahlia Rocio Puente, take you Da Xiang Wang, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, or the Lord comes for His own, and hereto I pledge you my faithfulness."

Da Xiang smiles and grabs on to my hand lightly until both Maribel and Chi-yun appear with the rings in their hands. It was time to distrubute the rings to one another. After Da Xiang says his ring vow, he slips on the rose gold wedding band on my right ring finger. I did the same after I say my ring vow. The ceremony was almost was over at least and I was going to leave her as a married woman. I stare into the beautiful rose gold wedding band on my right finger. It was pretty elegant with the four small red diamonds encrusted to the ring.

"Now this is moment where I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," states the priest.

Da Xiang smiles and holds me by the waist and places his lips on top of my lips. He kisses me lightly and there was some kind of indescribable sensation to it. Everybody starts cheering loudly for us while Da Xiang and I continue to kiss, but that was short lived. The kiss lasted for a good minute or so and we the two of us turn over to see the our friends and family.

"We did it," whispers Da Xiang into my left ear.

I whisper back, "I know Da Xiang and I am feeling beyond from ecstatic to know that I am finally your wife."

And now I am a married woman. It took ten years for the moment to come and it was all worth. Through the good and bad times, Da Xiang has been always there for me. I could not more grateful to know that he was there for me. The only thing I need to focus on is to be stronger during the dreadful situations that we might to face later in our future.

"What are you chances of changing your last name?" asks Da Xiang all of sudden.

I retort, "Not going to happen ever because I really love my last name and you know it."

Da Xiang chuckles at my response and we both leave the area first so we can spend time together. I then continue to stare at the beautiful red and white lotuses that were surrounding the temple. It was beautiful sight to see and there were bushes of red and white colored dahlias. I always it find it ironic that my mother named after such beautiful flower, but I understand now. Dahlia flowers mean dignity, elegance, and thine forever. That describes me perfectly because I always have an immense of dignity in myself, yet I am also act like the elegant person that I am truly. As for thine forever, it's Old English for yours forever. I realize that Da Xiang will be mine forever as we are committed in this serious relationship as husband and wife now.

* * *

**This is the end of this wonderful story. I was tempted to write this because I found some inspiration to do this. The inspiration came from my first two Metal Fight Beyblade one-shots, "My Little Confession" and "The Proposal". The flashback came from the Ferris Wheel scene from "My Little Confession" and Dahlia's first pregnancy came from "The Proposal".**


End file.
